The One that Crawled Through the Turtles Lair
by ThisCatalyst'sPen
Summary: Jimmy was a normal kid, until one night changes everything. He told his psychiatrist about the humanoid turtles that saved his life. That was a bad move. Everyone thinks Jimmy is crazy. Suffering from headaches and visions, Jimmy doesn't realise how connected to the turtles he really is. Why does he keep having dreams about them? And more importantly, why do they keep coming true?
1. Chapter 1 Don't Call Me Insane

**Summary: **Jimmy was a normal kid, until one night changes everything. He told his psychiatrist about the humanoid turtles that saved his life. That was probably a bad move. Now everyone thinks Jimmy is crazy. Suffering from headaches and strange visions, Jimmy doesn't realise just how connected to the turtles he really is. Why does he keep having strange dreams about them? And more importantly, why do these dreams keep coming true?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the turtles. All rights belong to their respective owners. All I can claim ownership to is this idea and my oc.

**Author's Notes: **Alright, so I know I have not updated in months and have removed quite a few of my stories due to plot bunnies tragically dying, but whilst on the precipice of consciousness and sleep, I had this idea that demanded to be written, one I hope to complete and update regularly.

First of all, this is quite a different story for me, as it is centred around an oc. Now, I know oc stories may turn a few off, however rest assured this is a heavily TMNT brother focused story. I have just added another character or two ;)

The first chapter opens with my oc, and we quickly learn quite a bit about Jimmy. I have written it this way as this story will focus on a lot of character development. And of course, we see the turtles in this chapter, one in particular, as they continue to do what they do best; kick butt. Now I apologise for this ridiculously long Author's Note. Please enjoy the first chapter.

Warnings for swearing.

* * *

**The One that Crawled Through the Turtles Lair**

Chapter One: Don't call me Insane

* * *

The streets of New York were oddly quiet. Jimmy shrugged his backpack on his shoulders and looked around uneasily. It was only a ten minute walk to his house from the public library, but Jimmy knew that anything could happen in ten minutes. Someone could die, someone could win the lottery and the world could possibly end. What's to say something wouldn't happen to Jimmy within the ten minute walk?

He moved quickly with his head down, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. He was just a seventeen year old boy walking home from the library. He didn't like how quiet it was, or how dark the streets were either. He hadn't realised it was so late. The sun had sunk below the horizon and shadows lengthened across the street. There were a few streetlamps on the side walk, illuminating a small patch of ground. Jimmy didn't know if it would be better to stick to the shadows, undetected, or run to every beam of light the streetlamps created, like they were a beacon to safety.

Jimmy didn't know what would happen to him if he ever got into a fight. He wasn't exactly the tallest or strongest kid his age. He wasn't fast and he didn't know how to fight. At all. He did, however, carry a pocket knife with him, though he didn't know exactly how to use it. Maybe if he threw it at his attacker, it would distract them so he could run away.

Trying not to think about being attacked, Jimmy quickened his pace. His dad would be mad it at him for being out so late, even if he had been working on a school assignment. _"New York is a dangerous place, Jimmy, always remember that." _His father's words made Jimmy shiver. The faint scar on his temple was enough of a reminder of that.

He looked around nervously, searching for any signs of life. He lived in a quiet neighbourhood, but Jimmy knew danger lurked around every unsuspecting corner. There was no one else out on the street but him. Cars lined the quiet street but they were all empty. Everyone else was safely looked up in their warm homes, probably sitting down to a hot meal and a night of watching TV. Jimmy couldn't wait to get home to read his new comic book that had come in the mail earlier that day. It would be a perfect night, lying in the solitary warmth of his room, his nose glued to the bright pages of the comic book as he was sucked into a world of myth and adventure and awesome battles of epic proportion.

A sudden sound made Jimmy freeze. His hand automatically reached for his pocket knife which was concealed in his jeans pocket. The sound came again, a few metres away where a dark alley cut through the neighbourhood. He heard muffled groans and the sound of fighting. What should he do? Should he call the police? Run in and help? _Don't be silly, _Jimmy thought, shaking his head. There was no way he could ever win a fight. _Maybe if I sneak past, whoever's down there won't notice me. _

Moving as quietly as he could, Jimmy slowly put one foot in front of the other, holding his breath as he tried to creep past the mouth of the alley. Suddenly the sound of fighting grew louder, and before Jimmy could even blink, he was roughly pushed to the ground. His head hit the sidewalk with a _thump. _Jimmy groaned at the pain and put his hand to his head, feeling blood in his hair. There was also some kind of green, glowing substance on his hand. Two large men stood before him, heavily tattooed and very angry. One was holding a canister filled with the same glowing substance. Jimmy gulped, his mouth dry with fear.

"Get out of the way, punk," one of the men growled, taking a step closer to Jimmy.

"I'm sorry!" Jimmy cried, trying to curl up into a ball. "Please don't hurt me!"

Suddenly, what looked like a throwing star was imbedded in the ground next to one of the men.

"Oh shit, it's the turtles," the man growled.

Jimmy blinked. Did he just say...turtles?

"Let's get out of here," the other guy said, pulling his friend's arm.

"What about the kid?"

"Leave him, he won't bitch, he's too scared."

Another throwing star landed a few feet from Jimmy, causing him to gasp in shook. Four shadows suddenly stood at the mouth of the alley.

"Don't let them get away," a voice said from the shadows.

The two men bolted, leaving Jimmy cowering on the ground. He looked up as three shadows chased after the men. Jimmy watched as they disappeared down another street, his heart racing in his chest.

"You alright, kid?" A deep, heavily accented voice said.

Jimmy yelped and looked up at the fourth shadow, standing in front of him. But it wasn't a shadow. Illuminated in the light of a near-by streetlamp was a giant, humanoid turtle. Jimmy blinked, sure that the bump to his head was making him see things.

"I said, are ya' alright?" The turtle growled, obviously impatient.

Jimmy opened and closed his mouth, unable to form words. The turtle in front of him was at least five foot seven, and heavily built. Muscles criss-crossed his arms and his legs. He had a shell, like a normal turtle, though it was battered and a few chips were missing in places. Despite this, he looked almost human. A red band crossed his face and two sharp-looking weapons gleamed in his belt.

"Kid,"

Jimmy nodded his head, unable to form any coherent words.

"Can ya' stand?"

Jimmy nodded again and shakily got to his feet. His head ached and he felt slightly dizzy, but he didn't pass out, so that was a good sign.

"Will ya' be ok now?" The turtle asked.

"Yes...thank you," Jimmy stammered.

"Run off home." The turtle growled.

Jimmy nodded and quickly started to walk in the direction of his home, feeling shivers run down his spine from the turtle's gaze.

"And kid," the turtle called out after him.

Jimmy stopped and turned around, his hands shaking at his sides.

"Ya' didn't see anything," the turtle said with a hint of a grin.

Jimmy stood frozen as the turtle disappeared into the shadows, leaving as quickly as he had appeared.

* * *

Jimmy was still shaken by the time he reached his house. Closing the front door behind him, Jimmy leaned against the door and closed his eyes. Was he crazy? Was the bump to his head the reason he had seen a giant turtle? Jimmy shook his head and winced. His head ached from where he had hit the gutter, and dry blood stuck to his face and mattered his hair. He was still shaken from the ordeal.

"There you are," Jimmy's father said, walking down the hallway. "Were on earth have you..." he trailed off when he saw the blood. "Jimmy, what happened?"

"I'm okay, dad," Jimmy insisted as his father pushed his hair back to look at the wound. "Some guys jumped me on the way home. I got knocked over and hit my head."

"We need to call the police. Did they take anything from you?"

"No dad," Jimmy said, before taking a deep breath. "I...I think they were going to kill me, but some guy stopped him."

"Do you know who it was?" His father asked.

"No...I've never seen him before. Dad, he was a giant turtle."

"What?"

"I know how crazy that sounds, but he wasn't...human, not completely anyway."

"Jimmy, you've had quite an ordeal. Your mind is just confused. Go get yourself cleaned up. I don't think you'll need stiches. I'll give you some painkillers. Dinner's on the table."

"Thanks, dad, but I'm not hungry." Jimmy murmured. "I think I'm just going to go to bed."

"Good idea. Don't worry about school tomorrow, stay home and rest."

Jimmy nodded and silently walked up the stairs to the bathroom. Locking the door behind him, Jimmy went over to the mirror and cringed when he saw his appearance. His face was pale and his blonde hair a mess. Dried blood covered one side of his face and Jimmy could see a cut on his hairline. It wasn't deep enough to need stitches, and the bleeding had stopped. Grabbing a wash-cloth, Jimmy washed away the blood, cringing as his head thumped with pain. Finding some Savlon, Jimmy winced as he rubbed the cream into his wound.

Something caught his attention in the mirror. Leaning closer, Jimmy saw a drop of the strange glowing substance on his cut. Wiping the substance away, Jimmy frowned. He had never seen a substance like that before. He wondered what it was, and hoped it wasn't dangerous.

Leaving the bathroom, Jimmy entered his bedroom and quickly changed. Feeling the weight of the past hour, Jimmy crawled into bed, his eyes heavy with fatigue. Closing his eyes, he tried to go to sleep. No matter how hard he tried to forget the events of the night, Jimmy couldn't stop thinking about that turtle. It had been so real; surely it couldn't just be a trick of the mind? _Maybe it was someone in a costume, _Jimmy thought.

Deciding it was just some guy in a turtle costume; Jimmy yawned and closed his eyes, hoping to put the weirdness of the day behind him.

Little did he know that things were never going to be the same again.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, I hope you all enjoyed this quirky little start. Do not be deterred, for this story is going to grow and grow and grow. The plot, is yet only known to me. However, soon enough, you will all know. I promise it will be a story of twists and turns, epic cliff-hangers, drama, brotherly awesomeness and a few sprinkles of hilarity here and there.

I would love to know what you all thought, so please feel free to leave a review. If you have any questions, concerns or general comments, let me know. Thanks for reading!

Oh, I have also used formally known titles and have changed them with a twist. 'Don't call me Insane' is from the classic, "Don't Call Me Ishmael,' and 'The Turtle that Crawled Through the Turtles Lair' is taken from 'The One That Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.'

Until the next time,

~Cat


	2. Chapter 2 The Insane Guide to Insanity

**Summary: **Jimmy was a normal kid, until one night changes everything. He told his psychiatrist about the humanoid turtles that saved his life. That was probably a bad move. Now everyone thinks Jimmy is crazy. Suffering from headaches and strange visions, Jimmy doesn't realise just how connected to the turtles he really is. Why does he keep having strange dreams about them? And more importantly, why do these dreams keep coming true?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the turtles. All rights belong to their respective owners. All I can claim ownership to is this idea and my oc.

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I hope you will all enjoy this chapter as well. There is not much to say, so I'll let you all jump straight in. An update should be forthcoming quickly.

* * *

**The One that Crawled Through the Turtles Lair**

Chapter Two: The Insane Guide to Insanity

* * *

Jimmy woke late the next morning with a splitting headache. Groaning, Jimmy sat up in bed and rubbed his tired eyes. He hadn't slept well. His dreams had been filled with humanoid turtles, green goo and strange men with dragon tattoos. Putting it down to stress, Jimmy stretched and got out of bed. It was late morning and the sun was already high in the sky. Looking out his window, Jimmy saw the usual view of cars congesting the road and people filling the footpaths, separated in their own lives. Jimmy wondered if any were as strange as his.

Getting dressed, Jimmy headed downstairs to the kitchen. He was starving. His father had left him a note on the fridge.

**-Jimmy,**

**Got called into work. There's leftovers from last night in the fridge. Stay home and rest today. I'll see you tonight,**

**Dad**

Scrunching the note into a ball and chucking it in the bin, Jimmy made himself some toast. Opening the fridge and grabbing the orange juice, he drank it straight from the container. Sitting down at the table, Jimmy flipped open his phone to see he had two missed calls and messages from his best friend, Harry.

**Bro, where are you man? You know the rules, if we have to suffer at school we have to suffer together.**

Jimmy shook his head and couldn't help but grin. He wondered if his friend would believe him about the humanoid turtles. He quickly texted back.

**Sorry man got into a scruff last night with some thugs. Dad let me stay home.**

It wasn't long before his friend replied back.

**Holy shit! I'm coming round after school. Tell me everything. You're not hurt are you?**

Jimmy quickly replied.

**Nah man, just a little scratch. I'll see you soon.**

Finishing his toast, Jimmy went to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he inspected the wound. His hair covered most of it, though it would probably leave a faint scar. _Great, another one, just what I need. _Taking some Panadol for his headache, Jimmy went back into his room to wait for his friend. Would Harry believe him if he told him about the turtle? Harry was fairly open-minded, but he doubted his friend would believe he had been rescued by a five-foot turtle with weapons.

Hoping the Panadol would kick in soon, Jimmy flipped through the pages of the comic book he didn't get to read, hoping to distract himself until his friend came over.

* * *

Donatello sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. He had gotten very little sleep the previous night, and he found that his usual three cups of coffee wasn't enough to keep him awake. His brothers had gotten home late last night after their patrol. They hadn't been able to track down the two Purple Dragons and retrieve the Mutagen they had stolen. Which was a big problem.

Deciding on another cup of coffee, Donnie pushed away from his desk and went to the kitchen. Mikey and Leo were sitting at the table, eating lunch.

"Hey, Donnie," Leo greeted upon seeing his brother. "Come up with any more theories?"

"No," Don sighed, leaning against the bench. "I have no idea why the Purple Dragons have been stealing Mutagen. What on earth could they want with it?"

"I don't know," Leo said gravely. "But it's not good. We need to figure out what they're up to."

"Raph and I are going scouting tonight," Mikey said. "He's still pissed he missed out on all the action last night."

"Dumb kid, should have been lookin' where he was goin'," Raphael muttered, entering the room.

"Don't be like that, Raph," Don said. "If we hadn't had come along that kid could be a lot worse off."

"Maybe," Raph muttered.

'You'll get some action tonight, Raph, don't you worry," Leo said, getting to his feet.

"Are you going out tonight as well?" Donnie asked.

Leo shook his head. "I'm staying in with Master Splinter. He thinks we need to meditate on this, try to see things a little more clearly."

"You're welcome to join us, Donnie," Mikey said.

"I think I will. I need some time away from staring at a computer all day. What about Casey?"

"He's in trouble with April," Raphael smirked. "She's got him under lock and key."

"He brings it upon himself," Don pointed out.

"True. He's still gonna pissed though, when he finds out we went out bashin' heads without him."

"We don't have to tell him," Mikey pointed out.

"Where's the fun in that?" Raphael laughed.

* * *

Jimmy heard knocking at the front door. Putting his comic down, he made his way downstairs and opened the door. Harry smiled at him and let himself in. Jimmy was about to close the door when he realised Harry wasn't alone.

"Hey, Jimmy, how are you?" Amy said as she followed in behind Harry.

Jimmy's throat went dry and he was sure he looked like an idiot. Amy had been their friend since kindergarten, and Jimmy had a huge crush on her. Quickly smoothing down his hair, Jimmy cleared his throat and shrugged.

"I'm okay."

"That's good, we were worried," Amy said, flipping her long raven black hair over her shoulder. Jimmy gulped.

"So tell us what happened," Harry urged, plopping down on one of the sofa's in the lounge room.

"There's not a lot to tell, really," Jimmy said, taking a seat opposite his friends. "I was walking home from the library. It was later than I thought. I was walking past this alley when I heard sounds coming from it. Before I knew it these two big guys rushed out and knocked me over. I hit my head on the gutter," Jimmy explained, lifting his hair to show them the cut.

"Looks painful," Amy said with a wince.

"It's not that bad," Jimmy assured her.

"What happened then? Did the guys just leave you?" Harry asked.

Jimmy licked his lips. Harry and Amy were his friends. They had been through a lot together. Surely he could tell them. "One of the guys started coming closer. I...I think he wanted me dead so I wouldn't call the cops or anything. Next thing I knew, he was standing right above me when...when..."

"Go on," Harry encouraged, eyes wide with fascination.

"This guy saved me," Jimmy finished.

"It's really lucky he was there," Amy said. "Do you know who it was?"

"No," Jimmy said taking a deep breath. "He wasn't exactly...human."

Harry looked at his friend and laughed. "What, he was like a superhero or something?"

"No, he was a giant turtle."

Harry glanced at Amy, the smile on his face quickly disappearing. "Look, Jimmy, you've been through a lot. It was probably just your mind playing tricks on you."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Jimmy sighed, seeing clearly that his friends didn't believe him.

"Besides," Harry continued, getting to his feet, "you hit your head pretty bad. You could have just imagined it."

"Yeah," Jimmy agreed flatly. "That's probably what happened."

"We better get going," Amy said. "You look like you need some rest, Jimmy."

"I'm okay, just had a bad sleep it all."

"We're glad you're okay," Amy said, giving him a quick hug which had Jimmy blushing furiously. "We'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah, sure will."

"Get some rest man," Harry said, punching his friend on the shoulder on the way out. "Don't scare us like that again."

"I'll try not to," Jimmy said, watching his friends walk down the street. With a sigh he closed the door.

Later that night he sat at the dinner table, staring numbly down at his untouched food.

"What's wrong, Jimmy?" His dad asked from across the table. "You haven't touched your food."

"I'm not hungry," Jimmy murmured, using his fork to idly play with his peas.

"Is this about last night?" His dad asked. "Are you sure you're okay, Jimmy? Nothing else happened did it?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Jimmy quickly assured his dad. "It's just...what I saw...with the turtle...it all felt so real."

"I know it seems that way, but it's just your body trying to adapt to the stress you felt last night. Your eyes could have been playing tricks on you. You did hit your head pretty hard."

"I know," Jimmy sighed. "You keep saying that."

"Why don't you have an early night? You have school tomorrow."

"Yeah, alright, goodnight dad," Jimmy said, getting to his feet.

"Goodnight Jimmy, try to get some sleep."

Jimmy slowly walked up the stairs to his room, closing his door firmly behind him. Why would no one believe him? Maybe he was crazy. Crawling into bed, Jimmy took more pain killers for the headache that just wouldn't leave. Closing his eyes he settled down to sleep, hoping that he would get a better sleep than the night before.

* * *

_Four shadows crept through the darkness. Jimmy followed closely behind, a silent observer. They were surrounded on all sides by sheer rock. It was like they were in an underground tunnel. The air was filled with tension, and it was obvious to Jimmy that whatever was happening, was serious. The four shadows moving in front of him became clearer, like they had stepped into a hidden source of light. Jimmy realised with a jolt that the four shadows were humanoid turtles. They each wore different coloured masks across their eyes and carried different weapons in their belts. Jimmy had the feeling that they knew how to use the weapons well._

_The scene around Jimmy started to change, and before he knew it he was standing in the middle of a white corridor. Looking around, he couldn't see the turtles. Plan, white doors lined each side of the hallway. Trying the closest to his left, Jimmy reached for the knob and tried to open the door. It was looked. He tried another one up further, this time on the right side. It was locked as well. _

_Continuing up the corridor, Jimmy turned the corner and came to a dead end. A single door, this one different from the rest, stood at the end of the all. Instead of white, like the other doors, this one was bright red. Jimmy tried the handle. It was unlocked. Cautiously pushing the door open, Jimmy stepped into the room. It was dark except for a strange green glow emitting from the end of the room. Jimmy frowned and took a step towards the light. What on earth was it?_

"_I've been expecting you, boy," a low voice said from the shadows._

_Jimmy whirled around, briefly seeing a scared face, before everything went black. _

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I hope everyone is still enjoying this story. It will pick up on action soon and the turtles will be seen a lot more. Please feel free to leave a review; I'd love to hear what you thought. If you have any questions/concerns/thoughts feel free to let me know.

Until the next time,

~Cat


	3. Chapter 3 Of Mysteries and Mutants

**A/n: Sorry for the wait- life has been pretty hectic. With final exams coming up this may be the last update for awhile. Hope you still enjoy**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Of Mysteries and Mutants**

Jimmy awoke with a start, breathless and covered in sweat. His head pounded with pain despite all the painkillers he had had previously. Knowing he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, Jimmy pushed his bedcovers off and got to his feet. Roaming around the darkness of his room, he quickly got changed and shoved his phone and trusty pocketknife into his jacket-pocket.

Slipping on his shoes, Jimmy snuck down the stairs to the hallway, trying to be as quiet as possible. He didn't want his dad to wake up and ask questions. Zipping his jacket up, Jimmy quietly slipped out the front door.

The streets were quiet and dark. Clouds covered the sky, blocking out the light of the moon. The streetlamps were Jimmy's only source of light. The night was cold and a chilly wind rustled through the few trees planted along the sidewalk. Jimmy found the cold refreshing, and the cool breeze quickly woke him up fully.

He didn't know what had come over him. After the events of the last few days, Jimmy was sure he would never venture outside the safety of his home again, especially not at night. But after the headaches and the disturbing dreams, all Jimmy wanted was to get out of the house and clear his head. Besides, what were the odds of running into danger twice in one week?

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Jimmy tucked his head down from the wind and started walking, letting his feet guide him.

Walking to the end of the street, Jimmy stopped beside one the large trees on the sidewalk. Looking up at the spread of branches, Jimmy swung his arms around in a circle, warming his muscles up.

"Okay, I can do this. Easy," Jimmy muttered to himself as he wrapped his arms around the rough bark. Using all of his strength, which in hindsight wasn't a lot, Jimmy pulled himself up, grabbing the lowest branch and pulling himself up until he was perched comfortably. Not only was it nice and cosy up in the tree, Jimmy hoped it would provide cover if anyone happened to be around. He felt safe up in the tree, even if he were only in the lowest branch. He didn't want to think about getting down, however. Getting up had been hard enough.

Leaning back against the tree for support, Jimmy observed the silent streets. It was strange that, only a night before, he had been only a few metres away, bloodied and fearing for his life. Not to mention, the place where he had seen the humanoid turtle. Jimmy shook his head and closed his eyes. Was he crazy? Maybe he had hit his head harder than he had thought and had imagined the whole thing. But if that were true, why was he having dreams about humanoid turtles?

Perhaps it was just a phase. Something his mind was conjuring to deal with the stress of the other night. _Yes, that must be it, _Jimmy thought with conviction. _Besides, people have strange dreams all the time. _

With that thought, Jimmy leaned back against the tree and let his mind wonder.

* * *

Michelangelo ran beside his brothers, laughing and leaping through the air. He liked these nights, when they could just let loose and have fun. Technically, they were supposed to be looking for clues, but Mikey was having too much fun to care.

Donnie and Raph ran alongside him across the rooftops, flipping and spinning through the air.

"I'm glad I came along tonight," Donnie said breathlessly. "I need a break from staring at books and computer screens all day."

"Always said ya' needed to get out more," Raphael said, flashing a grin at his brother.

"Though, we should be focusing," Don reminded them.

"We'll look for clues, don't worry," Raphael assured his brother. Won't kill us to have a little fun first."

"Now you're talking my tune," Mikey said with a whoop.

They continued racing across the rooftops, letting their minds wonder. Even ninjas needed a break every now and then.

After an hour of games and charades, the turtles focused their attention to the task at hand. Tracing their steps back to last night, the turtles crouched on the edge of the rooftop, peering down into the alley below.

"If only we had gotten here sooner," Donnie whispered. "Then we might have seen where they took the Mutagen from."

"There aren't a lot of options," Raph said, looking around the empty streets. "They must have gotten it from somewhere else in the city, and this was the rendeverous point."

"Good point, let's go down and get a closer look," Donnie said, silently dropping into the alley below.

The others quickly followed, narrowing their eyes in the darkness of the alley. It was a straight, dead-end alley way. No doors lead to the alley. The only things occupying the dark space were garbage cans overflowing with waste.

"What a lovely meeting point," Mikey said, scrunching his beak up at the rancid smell.

"It's a quiet part of town," Don said out loud. "It's the perfect place to remain undetected."

"'Till we found 'em," Raph pointed out.

"Yes, until we found them," Donnie muttered, searching the ground for any possible clues. "Look," he said, pointing a few metres away.

The turtles gathered around a drop of glowing, green ooze.

"It's Mutagen," Don said, studying the substance. "The canister must have been damaged."

"Look, there's more leading to the mouth of the alley," Mikey said, pointing to a faint trail of Mutagen.

The turtles followed the trail to the end of the alley. Cautiously looking out, the turtles made sure they were alone before they stepped out onto the street.

"Look," Donnie said with a gasp, "there's Mutagen and blood here."

Raphael followed his gaze and scoffed. "That's from that kid last night. Two Purple Dragons knocked him over, hit his head. That's where the blood's from."

"And here the trail just ends," Don finishes. "Leo, Mikey and I doubled back last night after they disappeared. There aren't any other traces."

"What are we missing?" Mikey asked. "They obviously had a getaway car."

"But there were no tire marks, nor smell of exhaust," Donnie pointed out.

"How far were they when you lost them?" Raph asked.

"Not far. They disappeared around a corner. We couldn't have been more than forty seconds behind them. But when we got to the corner it was like they had just vanished."

"Maybe we need to follow the path again, check things over," Raph sighed. "There's got to be something we missed."

"It's too late now," Don pointed out. "Let's go back to the lair, tell Leo what we found. We'll all go out again tomorrow night."

"Sounds like a plan," Raphael grumbled before he froze.

"What is it, Raph?" Mikey asked, noticing the sudden change within his brother.

"I don't know," Raphael said slowly, his eyes roaming around the street. "I just got this feeling that someone is watching us."

"There's no one here," Don said after a moment. "We already checked."

Raphael's eyes landed on a tree only a few metres away. Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the tree, but the harsh glare from a near-by streetlamp made it impossible to see anything.

"Guess I'm just imaging things," Raphael grumbled before following his brothers back into the darkness of the alley.

* * *

Jimmy let out the strangled breath he had been holding. He hadn't been spotted. He watched as the turtles disappeared from sight, and pinched himself hard. He hadn't been imaging things. The turtles, or whatever they were, were real. He wasn't crazy.

_But where's the fourth one? _Jimmy thought to himself, remembering seeing four shadows in his dream. Were these creatures really turtle-people? Or was it just some guys wearing costumes? _They looked really real though._ _Perhaps they're mutants! _Jimmy thought with a sudden gasp. _Like the X-Men!_

Jimmy briefly wondered if all his comic books were true. If there were real life mutants in New York, surely it couldn't be impossible for other comic book fantasies to be real either.

_That is so cool,_ Jimmy thought. _I wonder if they have a teacher, like Professor X. I wonder where they live?_

Shaking his head to clear his rapidly racing thoughts, Jimmy realised he was in a predicament. He had seen with his own eyes that these creatures were real and not a figment of his imagination. He just had to think of a way to prove it to everyone else. _Damn, should have taken a photo with my phone. But that probably would have alerted them. _

Jimmy thought back to the conversation he had overheard. It sounded like they were tracking someone down. But what was Mutagen? Was it dangerous?

Determined to get to the bottom of it, Jimmy scrambled down the tree and ran for home. Now he just needed a plan.


End file.
